Over 628,600 residents in east China’s Fujian Province have been affected by Typhoon Gaemi, the third typhoon of the year, as of 6 a.m. on July 26, according to data from the province’s flood control and drought relief headquarters.
Following Gaemi’s landfall, Fujian authorities upgraded the emergency response level for natural disaster relief to Level III, the third highest in a four-tier system, at 10 p.m. on Thursday.
As of 8 a.m. on Friday, Gaemi was in Sanming City, Fujian. The severe tropical storm is projected to move northwest at approximately 20 kilometers per hour and is expected to reach Jiangxi Province by Friday evening. It will gradually weaken as it continues its northward journey.
China’s National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert—the second-highest level—for the typhoon on Friday morning. Affected by Gaemi, heavy rains are forecast until 8 a.m. on Saturday in southern Taiwan, Fujian, southern Zhejiang, eastern Guangdong, central and eastern Jiangxi, and other regions.
In response to the impending disaster, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a meeting on Thursday to coordinate flood and typhoon control efforts. They collaborated with departments of meteorology, water resources, natural resources, and housing and urban-rural development. Expert groups have been dispatched to the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Hebei, Sichuan, and Anhui to assist in flood control and disaster relief operations.
The Ministry of Emergency Management has mobilized over 4,500 engineering rescue personnel, more than 1,600 sets of equipment, and eight helicopters for aerial rescue missions in key areas such as Zhejiang and Fujian.
The Ministry of Water Resources raised the emergency response for flood control in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces to Level III at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport escalated the response level for the typhoon to Level II at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. All passenger trains in Fujian were suspended on Thursday as a precaution.
Reference(s):
Over 628,000 people in Fujian Province affected by Typhoon Gaemi
cgtn.com
